Rancho Bernardo man lived a life full of accomplishments

YVETTE URREA - Staff Writer

RANCHO BERNARDO -- The family of Murray Joseph Shea remembered
him as a man who excelled in every path he set out on in his life,
from education to career to his family.

Shea, 87, passed away peacefully Thursday, his family said. Hewas married for 64 years to Barbara Shea, and they had three sons,Mike Shea of Virginia, Christopher Shea of Reno, and Peter Shea ofSanta Monica, and nine grandchildren. He had worked in the FBI andin real estate sales in San Francisco before retiring to RanchoBernardo in 1984.

"We're going to miss him, but he led a good life," said his
eldest son, Mike Shea.

Shea was born on June 13, 1918, in San Francisco. His father,
Joe Shea, was a professional baseball player for the San Francisco
Pioneers.

Murray Shea "was a nice Irish kid" who shone in scholastics and
athletics, Peter Shea said of his father. He was valedictorian and
first in his class at St. Ignatius High School in San Francisco,
college and law school, said Mike Shea. He briefly attended the
U.S. Military Academy at West Point on an athletic scholarship,
then got a scholarship to the University of Santa Clara where he
continued to play football, and ultimately the University of San
Francisco where he graduated and went on to law school.

While attending law school and during World War II, he worked as
a clerk for the FBI, where he was recruited to be an agent. He
worked as a spy during the war and afterward worked his way up the
ranks until he retired in 1958.

Mike Shea said he remembers looking at a newspaper article with
a photograph of his father arresting a Polish ship captain who was
spying on the United States for the Germans. His father told him he
followed the captain for two years and had to learn to blend into
the background in the field.

Mike Shea said his father knew J. Edgar Hoover and had saved
letters of commendation including a congratulatory note on his
birth.

"We always ended up talking about his days as an athlete, his
days in the FBI and his wife that he adored," Mike Shea said.

After he retired from the FBI, he had a distinguished career as
a real estate agent. He was president of a small firm and was a
judge on an arbitration board.

"He was actually an extremely brilliant and humble man," Peter
Shea said. "He was such a solid guy and really an example of how to
live a good life, but he didn't preach to anyone."

Murray Shea met his wife, Barbara, as a teenager while
vacationing with his family in the Russian River area, north of San
Francisco. He threw a rock at her to get her attention.

The two began dating in college and were smitten with each
other. During the war, Shea wrote a letter of engagement to her
father, Peter Shea said. She hopped on a train to Washington D.C.,
where they were married in a little church during a snowstorm in
1942.

Mike Shea recalled that his father always supported his sons,
helped them in sports and with homework, and wanted them to try
their hardest at whatever they did.

"He was also a religious man, he prayed a lot, and he asked me
to pray with him," Mike Shea said. "He was a hard worker and I
think above all things, his ethics and his values were some of the
things I draw upon when I need some help and try to convey that to
my kids."

When Murray Shea retired, he and Barbara moved to Rancho
Bernardo for the warmer and sunnier climate. The couple, who did
everything together, played tennis and traveled.

"In the latter part of his life, tennis was probably his
favorite sport. He loved his kids, loved his wife, he loved visits
from his sons and grandchildren," Mike Shea said.